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Health Aspects
HEALTH ASPECTS OF LAB GROWN MEAT *“Normal” meat indulgence leads to CVD, Diabetes, cancer and other health problems IN VITRO MEAT *IVM allows greater control over what meat contains: *Fats (less sat fats, replaced with omega 3? – decrease CVD, arthritis and inflammation) *Heme-iron free (Heme is good for anemia but can increase risk of CVD and some cancers and T2D) *No cholesterol/sat fat free varieties in store *Get rid of L-carnitine (normally is broken down by gut bacteria, releasing chemicals, which increase the risk of CVD) *Offer different range of nutrients *Fortified with VitB12 (good for nerve and blood cells), like OJ fortified with Vit *Range of nutrient from conventional meat and IVM would be different – do we lose out by growing the meat? *less imports/exports: **Worry less about emerging diseases, eg avian flu and swine flu (suffered by intensively farmed animals). **Produce exotic meats (no imports, so no infections like rhinovirus and herpes). LAB CONDITIONS *It is believed that in vitro meat will in some ways pose less of a threat due to having reduced exposure to bacteria and diseases present naturally in the environment and particularly so in the food industry. *In-vitro meat however does require preservatives such as sodium benzoate which are necessary to protect the meat from bacterial and fungal infection and ensure it safe for consumption. WORK AND LIVING CONDITIONS ON FARMS *Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) leads to suffering, bad/forced diet, drugs and disease. *The farms/factories: *Employees suffer from asthma, eye inflammation and chronic bronchitis. *Pollution from factory farms (locals suffer from headaches, runny nose, diarrhoea, burning eyes). *Contaminate drinking water with nitrates (through animal waste) – leads to miscarriages, malformations, cancers etc. *CAFOs are bad for animals, staff and locals!! Need alternative growth methods. HEALTH IMPACT OF TRADITONAL MEAT *CDC: “meat and poultry are responsible for 29% of food-poisoning related deaths in US” (esp salmonella and listeria) *FDA: 72% of all US anti-biotic sales are used in the production of “normal” meat, which leads to resistant bacteria in the population. HEALTH IMPACTS OF IVM *Essentially, there are many potential health benefits. In the same way that animals can be fed to increase the amount of omega-3 fatty acids they contain, in vitro meat can have omega-3 fatty acids added to the growth medium. *Due to the nature of lab environments it is also likely that the meat will not be exposed to harmful chemicals usually encountered by reared animals such as pesticides and fungicides. *In the future it is likely that growth hormones may need to be added to in vitro meat in order to promote the growth of the muscle cells. *IVM is much safer (but not 100%) – no growth hormones (which are illegal in the EU but still legal in the US and Canada). *Producing IVM currently requires the use of antibiotics – in the future it will be possible to get rid of them (due to large scale sterile systems being developed). *What does eating stem cells mean down the road? Need to wait years to find out REFERENCES #MARTA ZARASKA. (2013). Is lab meat good for us? . Available: www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/08/is-lab-grown-meat-good-for-us/278778/ Last accessed 24th Feb 2015.